#30 – RHP Eric Beaulac

Why Ranked Here: Although he was a little old for the SAL at age 22, Beaulac’s 10.32 K/9 is very pretty and very hard to ignore. Tall and lanky, Beaulac did it with a fastball that sat at 89 mph, but touched 93. Beaulac’s out pitch is his slider which he threw from 79-83 mph, solid average velocity to a little better than that. The invaluable Mike Newman of scoutingthesally.com noted that the slider “flashes plus.” Beaulac’s changeup is a very distant third offering, but a tall RHP who can touch low nineties with a promising slider sounds like classic MLB bullpen material.

2009: Beaulac finished eight in the SAL in strikeouts and tenth in ERA in a fine campaign. He began the year piggybacking with Kyle Allen, alternating starts with his younger rotation mate in April, before starting in every one of his appearances in May. Moved to the bullpen in June, Beaulac was simply untouchable in the month, putting up a 0.53 ERA in 17 innings with 20 strikeouts against just four walks. Returned to the rotation for the duration of the season, Beaulac put up good numbers, but averaged under five innings per start indicating a lack of command.

Dr. Pangloss Says: Beaulac will be a key part of a strong MLB bullpen where, working all-out, he velocity will stabilize in the low 90s and his slider will be a nasty, plus pitch.

While 2011 is possible, it seems that 2012 is considerably more likely. He’s starting in A+ this year, right? Most likely, he spends the entire year in A+ or gets a late season call up to AA. Then starts next year in AA and may or may get a call up to AAA later in the season in 2012. Now, it is possible that he so dominates A+, that he gets a mid-season call up to AA, which sets him up for potentially getting called up in 2011, but odds of that have to be well below 50%. He obviously still needs time in the minors to work on his command, develop his secondary pitches and just learn to pitch.

If he develops the change-up, he could stick as a starter. If he doesn’t, he destined for the pen. This is a big year for him against more seasoned competition. With a solid opening of the season, he could very well be in AA by the summer. St Lucie will have a nice rotation this year.

Because he is not ready to pitch in the bigs in 2010. The kid has never pitched above low-A ball. He pitched well last year but did not dominate. So, while I think he is a solid prospect, the kid needs time to develop.